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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28479471">evermore</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pugrii_writes_2453/pseuds/Pugrii_writes_2453'>Pugrii_writes_2453</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Broadchurch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alec Hardy &amp; Ellie Miller Are Best Friends, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Softness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:14:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,083</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28479471</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pugrii_writes_2453/pseuds/Pugrii_writes_2453</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There are some things Ellie notices about her best friend, that really come in handy later.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alec Hardy &amp; Ellie Miller</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>evermore</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>No beta we die like the idiots we are. Just finished this poor neglected project. Hope you like it!</p>
<p>title: evermore - taylor swift</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gently he rubbed his right thumb over the left ones joint, hands lightly clasped together in his lap. Anything else Hardy looked like a stonehearted cop going to court with the confidence of a big rock in the wild ocean. Ellie wondered if he was nervous. She herself had gotten a tea just so she could hold it, to calm her nerves. Maybe he was soothing himself, since he had no tea. She never really knew how he really felt. After a while of working together Ellie did find out that underneath the grumpy, angry and lonewolfish Hardy was another Hardy, she had yet to see. Alec Hardy was an onion, but at the moment she was too busy to care about that. Her husband had just killed her sons best friend. </p>
<p>They were sitting at Hardys coffetable, there were many things she looked differently at than he did. They were making progress. Ellie felt weirdly proud and  from the way she had learnt to read Hardy, he was too. It felt good unraveling the past and twisting it back in the right way. She felt powerful and confident. Hardy had been right this did help. Beneath everything, however, must be more. He was doing it again. Slow circles. They were just taking in all the connections they had made. Circles, circles, circles. Before she could ask her already was throwing in a new thought and they were at it again. Underneath something was happening, a new layer maybe. Hardy really was like an onion and she had found a way to see another layer. But Ellie couldn´t focus on that. They had clues to follow.</p>
<p>It had been so subtle no one had really noticed, but Hardy was doing it again. Hands clasped on the table, he leant forward asking questions to the suspect. Ellie was disgusted by what had happened and desperatly wanted this to end. So it seemed Hardy too. Right thumb tracing circles over the left one. Again and again. She could see the skin reddening from the constant pressure. Their suspect didn´t seem to notice and neither apparently neither. So he was just as stressed about this as she was. Layers, like an onion, but she needed to focus. She couldn´t hone in on that. There was a case to solve. </p>
<p>Since when had Ellie started calling Hardy Alec or her best friend? She didn´t know. Since Danny and Sandbrook it had been three years. Since the Winterman-case it had been three. Him and Daisy had stayed and they both seemed to get along better and better, as they were more involved with the town more as well. Daisy started calling her Auntie and to her boys Alec was Uncle Alec. Sometimes Ellie and her other best friend Beth held big dinner parties with both of their families. Alec and Beth hand´t met each other under teh best of circumstances. It was kind of infruriating not to be able to have two best friends, who were friends with eachother as well. So today Beth and Ellie invited the Hardys over to their dinner party. So far the kids were having fun under each other. Cloe and Daisy liked each other already and both of her boys easily fit in with them. Beth and Hardy seemed to et along quite well after Alec awkwardly stumbled along an apology about the way he had acted during the case and Beth, a little awkward as well, brushing them off as well. They were smalltalking, as expeted. Beth did more of the tlaking than Alec. She just came brack form the loo and was about ot sit back down when she noticed it again. Sometimes in the layers underneat was going on, was working. Ellie decided that maybe it was time for a short break and dessert. "Alec, would ya come give me a hand?", she asked. Almost a little too fast Alec got up and followed her into the kitchen. He almost looked relieved. Ellie seemed to have called the right move for onion boy. </p>
<p>It was late at night. Ellie had woken up due to another nightmare. Not wanting to think about it, she had gotten up and went for a walk, trusting both of her sons that they were old enough to sleep through the night. It was cold, colder than usualy, since winter was coming. The wind blew - cold and and wet - her air into her face and the sky was clouded. The moon broke through for a split second and Ellie could have sworn there was someone standing on the cliffs. Deciding why not? she headed there as well. Usually there weren´t many people out at this time of night. That´s why it didn´t really surprise her when she saw that it was Hardy standing there. "Hello there, sir!", she yelled over and found it slightly amousing when he jumped. "Not expecting anyone?", she asked cheekily. Alec grunted and glanced at her. They stood there in silence for a little while. The silence was comfortable. Often they found themselves taking late night walks together or meeting up at one of the benches on the peer. It didn´t really surprise her anymore when they met. She had known that Hardy had sleeping problems for a long time and ever since Danny she had followed in his footsteps, sadly. She spared a glance down the cliff and noticed how close Hardy was standing. He hadn´t moved since she had joined him, so he´d been standing like this for a while now. The silence suddenly felt strained and heavy. Ellie wondered why she suddenly had this uneasy feeling down in the pit of her stomach. Carefully she spied a glance at Alecs hands, because she knew exactly what to look for. She found it. Again and again circled his thumb over the other. With a sad smile Ellie turned to her best friend. Why hadn´t he tried to call her? "Would you like to sleep over?", she asked, already grabbing for his hand. Not letting him really say anything in his defence before dragging him off down the hill to her house. They walked in silence for a little. Alec interlocked their fingers and trailed behind a little bit. Ellie once again smiled and looked back at onion boy. "Next time you come to me before going up there", she said. He nodded.</p>
<p>"Let´s have some tea."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Discord: https://discord.gg/sf5jV9p</p></blockquote></div></div>
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